It has six offices in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and lawyers, tax advisers and patent attorneys, making it the largest independent law firm in Central Europe. Clients include large international companies and leading Czech and Slovak firms. The team provides complex advice by covering not only legal regulations but also the business background, such as telco, energy, FMCG, retail and automotive.
The Ministry is also entitled to review any foreign investment up to five years after its completion. The approval of the Czech National Bank does not exempt a transaction from the merger control regime; such transaction still needs to be notified to the OPC, provided the notification conditions are met.
Decisions of the chairperson may be subject to review by the Administrative Court in Brno following an administrative action and by the Supreme Administrative Court respectively.
There are no exemptions from the obligation to notify, but a concentration has to fulfil the following two general conditions to be notifiable. There is no possibility to file voluntarily if thresholds are not exceeded: the scope of merger control is limited solely to the compulsory filings. There has been an increasing number of decisions imposing fines for failing to notify a transaction under the Czech merger control regime. The OPC publishes its decisions on its website, including information on the amount of the fine.
Generally, the following types of transactions are subject to merger control in the Czech Republic. Regardless of its form, there must be a change in the nature of control of an undertaking in order for a transaction to be considered a concentration within the meaning of the CCA. It is irrelevant whether the change in control is brought about by a purchase of shares or assets or by any other means. Internal restructurings or reorganisations, as well as transactions not involving the transfer of shares, may be caught if they lead to a change in control of the undertaking eg, granting veto rights to a minority shareholder leading to the acquisition of control.
